Keep an eye on what Denver does with Orton

Gotta get this in between the first two episodes of American Idol, a phenomenon which I officially declared dead when my 6-year-old turned to me in the first half hour of last night's show and said, "Dad, I miss Simon."

Fox said earlier this week that all of his quarterbacks -- even the really, really bad ones like Brady Quinn -- will "compete, and we'll go from there." Yeah, right.

There's a belief that 2010 first-round pick and boy scout/superhero Tim Tebow is the guy that Fox, offensive coordinator and new head honcho John Elway prefer. Elway stuck his foot in his mouth regarding Tebow's current skill level, but apparently believes Tim can become a pretty darn good NFL QB.

That leaves Kyle Orton, who, at 28, and supposedly not a big Tebow fan, possibly on the trading block.

I bring this up cuz there's a team in town that needs a veteran quarterback and a quarterback of the future.

I ask, "How hard should the Vikings go after Orton if he's made available," and "Boy, wouldn't it be nice when talking about possible trades if Chilly hadn't tossed away that third-rounder for the 26-day rental of Randy Moss?"

I say if the Vikings feel they can get a quarterback in the draft that they feel can start right away, pass on Orton and go for an older QB who wouldn't mope if he didn't get to start. If the Vikings feel the only QBs they can get in the draft will take time to develop, then bring Orton in. If nothing else, it sure would add excitement to the two Bears games.

SECOND DOWN:

I spent time on a conference call with LaDainian Tomlinson this afternoon because I'm doing a column for Friday's paper on his decision last March to pick the Jets over the Vikings.

He told me he honestly didn't know if the Jets were closer to reaching the Super Bowl than the Vikings were, but obviously he felt that way because he also said this:

"The No. 1 and only goal for me coming here was to win a Super Bowl championship."

Both teams made last year's conference title games, but it was assumed the Vikings were closer because they were coming back intact (c'mon, we all knew Favre was coming back, even in March). The Jets were playing in the more powerful conference.

While the Vikings stood pat in the offseason, the Jets were among the most aggressive teams in the league. And look where they are and where the Vikings are.

LT's not only a Hall of Fame running back, he's also a pretty good NFL prognosticator.

THIRD DOWN:

LT also talked about Tony Richardson, the Jets' fullback and 17-year NFL veteran. A win would put Richardson in the Super Bowl for the first time. Richardson spent the 2006-07 seasons with the Vikings.

"Tony is a great pro and a reliable guy," Tomlinson said. "He's a guy you can always count on and a guy you love to have in your locker room. And he doesn't get credit for all the dirty work that he does."

FOURTH DOWN:

Tomlinson was asked if he'd pull an Elway and retire if he won the Super Bowl. (Actually, an "Elway" is winning back-to-back Super Bowls and then retiring).

Ever the gentleman, even on a team that doesn't always carry itself in a gentlemanly fashion, LT said, "I really haven't thought about it. We have one more game to go, a difficult game coming up in Pittsburgh."